Cobb County property tax in 2026: Acworth rates, a worked bill, exemptions and due dates

At a glance

Cobb County millage rates for 2026, by jurisdiction

Property tax in Cobb is a rate, called millage, applied to 40% of your home's fair market value. One mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value, so 30.13 mills means $30.13 per $1,000. The table shows the 2026 rates the Cobb Tax Commissioner publishes for the two tax districts an Acworth address can fall in, with Kennesaw alongside for comparison.

Every 2026 rate matches 2025, and the Georgia Department of Revenue's certified 2025 digest shows the same Cobb figures.

County general: 8.46 mills

Funds county government. It is the only Cobb line where the floating homestead exemption applies.

County fire: 2.97 mills

Applies in the county and in Acworth. The basic homestead exemption does not reduce it.

Cobb County School District: 18.70 mills

The biggest line: about 68.01% of the total on Cobb's 2025 sample bill for an unincorporated home. There is no school bond levy.

City of Acworth: 8.95 mills

Paid only inside the city limits, on a separate City of Acworth bill. Cobb's Tax Commissioner bills the county, fire and school levies; each of Cobb's seven cities bills its own tax.

Inside Acworth city limits or not: check the tax district

The 8.95-mill difference is about $1,457 a year on a typical Acworth home, so confirm which district a house is in before you rely on any estimate.

Your mailing address does not decide it

The City of Acworth points out that the mailing city is set by the US Postal Service. A property can be inside Acworth city limits with a Kennesaw mailing address, and some homes inside Kennesaw's limits have an Acworth address. Other homes with an Acworth address are in unincorporated Cobb and pay no city tax at all.

Where to look

The "Tax District" field on a Cobb bill or assessment notice tells you. "Unincorporated Cobb" means the home is not in any city, even if the postal address names one. You can also look up the parcel on Cobb's online map or ask the listing agent for the seller's last bill. A handful of Acworth-addressed neighborhoods are not in Cobb at all; see the last section.

Worked 2026 bill on Acworth's typical home

Zillow's typical home value for Acworth was $406,860 in August 2026. Cobb's formula is ((value x 40%) - exemptions) x millage / 1,000, applied line by line.

Step 1: assessed value

$406,860 x 40% = $162,744 assessed value. Every levy starts from this number.

Step 2: the bill with no homestead exemption

Inside Acworth city limits: $162,744 x 39.08 / 1,000, worked line by line and rounded to the cent, is $6,360.03 a year, about $530.00 a month. This is your position for any year in which you did not own and live in the home on January 1.

Step 3: the bill with Cobb's basic homestead exemption

The basic exemption takes $10,000 off the assessed value on the county general and school lines only, leaving $152,744 taxable there. County general falls to $1,292.21 and school to $2,856.31; fire and the city line are unchanged. Total: $6,088.43 a year, about $507.37 a month. The saving is $271.60, which is $10,000 x 27.16 mills (8.46 + 18.70), matching the figure Cobb prints on its 2026 rate table.

Step 4: the same home in unincorporated Cobb

Drop the city line and the Cobb bill is the whole bill: $4,903.47 with no homestead or $4,631.87 with the basic exemption, about $385.99 a month. As a share of value that is about 1.14% with homestead, against about 1.50% inside the city.

Inside the city, add Acworth's flat street light assessment of $2 a month ($24 a year) on the city bill.

The affordability calculator uses this first-year, homesteaded rate for homes inside the city. For a specific address, Cobb's Tax Commissioner has an estimator on its site.

Why your first bill runs higher than Cobb's median

The Tax Foundation's 2026 county table, built on 2024 Census survey data, puts Cobb's median tax paid at $2,720 on a median home value of $407,200, an effective rate of 0.69%. A buyer's first-year bill above is far higher.

Long-time owners carry floating exemptions that grew as values rose, plus senior exemptions. Those do not move with a sale: the new owner starts with only the basic exemption.

One protection: under SB 346 (2010), after an arm's-length sale the taxable value for the following year cannot exceed the sale price.

Cobb County property tax exemptions

Each exemption cuts taxable value on specific bill lines. Filing steps and deadlines are on our Cobb County homestead exemption guide.

Basic homestead: $10,000

County general and school lines; $271.60 a year at 2026 rates.

Floating homestead (Taxpayer Reassessment Relief Act)

Grows when your value is raised, so county general tax does not rise from reassessment alone. Acworth has its own version. Neither covers school or fire.

Age 62 school tax exemption

Removes all school taxes for owners 62 by January 1, with proof of age.

State senior exemption at 65: $4,000

State, county bond and fire categories; net income of $10,000 or less, excluding Social Security and retirement income.

Disability: $22,000

All categories except state; $12,000 net income cap.

Veterans and surviving spouses

State exemptions for disabled veterans and surviving spouses apply; amounts are on our Georgia homestead exemption guide.

Who sets the rates, and why 2026 was called a tax increase

The Board of Commissioners, the Board of Education and the Acworth city council each set their rate, generally in late July.

Georgia law makes a government advertise a tax increase and hold three hearings when it keeps a rate above the rollback rate, the rate that would raise the same money from the reassessed digest. In 2026 Cobb kept county general at 8.460 mills against a rollback rate of 8.129 and advertised a 4.07% increase, about $62.89 more on a $500,000 homestead, with hearings on July 14, 21 and 28. Acworth kept 8.950 against a rollback of 8.569, a 4.45% increase, about $57.15 more on a $375,000 home. The Tax Commissioner's 2026 table shows both rates as adopted.

Assessment notices and appeals

The annual notice

Since 2011 Cobb has mailed an assessment notice every year to every owner of taxable real property, whether or not the value changed. It shows the value and a tax estimate.

The 45-day deadline

A written appeal must be received, or USPS-postmarked, within 45 days of the notice date. There are no extensions. Grounds are value, uniformity and taxability.

Board of Equalization

The no-cost route: after the assessors' review, a three-member citizen board hears it. Its decision can go to Superior Court within 30 days.

Arbitration and hearing officers

Arbitration covers value only and needs a certified appraisal plus a fee. Hearing officers hear only certain non-homestead property, so they rarely apply to a first home.

Paying while you appeal

An appealed parcel gets a temporary bill. Pay at least the appeal amount, usually 85% of the current assessed value or 100% of the last uncontested value, by October 15 to avoid the 5% penalty.

The value freeze after a win

When a value is reduced at the board, a hearing officer or an arbitrator, it is frozen for the following years under O.C.G.A. 48-5-299(c), unless you file a different return, appeal again or make substantial improvements.

Due dates and how to pay

The Cobb County bill: due October 15

Cobb mails bills by August 15 and they are due October 15. A mailed payment needs a USPS postmark by October 15; metered and kiosk postmarks are not accepted.

The City of Acworth bill: 60 days from billing

Acworth bills in the fall, usually by mid-September, for January 1 to December 31 of that year, with payment due 60 days from the billing date. Confirm the date printed on your bill each year.

Late payment

After October 15 Cobb adds a 5% penalty on the unpaid balance plus monthly interest. Unpaid taxes lead to a tax lien (Fi. Fa.) and eventually a tax sale. Acworth charges monthly interest and a 5% penalty 120 days after the due date and every 120 days after, capped at 20%.

Ways to pay

Cobb: online (e-check free), by mail, by phone at 1-866-PAYCOBB, or at the West Cobb office, 3858 Kemp Ridge Rd, Acworth. Acworth: online by card, by mail or at City Hall, 4415 Center Street.

Escrow and closing: what first-time buyers need to know

The bill goes to whoever owned the home on January 1

Both Cobb and Acworth bill the owner of record on January 1 for the whole year. Neither tax office splits the bill between buyer and seller. The fall bill may carry the seller's name and exemptions, and under most closing terms the buyer pays it.

Proration happens at the closing table

The seller's share of the year is usually credited to you at closing, and you then pay the full bill when it arrives. Our Georgia closing costs guide shows where that credit appears.

Make sure both bills reach your lender

If your loan has an escrow account, Cobb sends the bill to both you and the lender once the lender notifies the office, but you remain responsible for paying on time. Acworth mails only to the taxpayer unless it has the mortgage company's name and address, so give the city your lender's details or forward the city bill yourself.

I can walk you through how a home's tax district and exemptions change its monthly payment before you write an offer.

Acworth addresses outside Cobb County

Some Acworth mailing addresses sit in other counties with their own rates. Bentwater is in Paulding County, where unincorporated homes paid 24.875 mills in 2025 (county 4.300, county bond 0.800, fire 2.100, schools 17.675). Part of ZIP 30102, including Centennial Lakes, is in Cherokee County, which bills on its own schedule; check Cherokee's tax commissioner for its current total. The statewide rules that apply in every county are on our Georgia property tax guide.

Common questions

Sources

• Cobb County Tax Commissioner: 2026 Millage Rates of Cobb County Bills
• Cobb County Tax Commissioner: 2025 Millage Rates of Cobb County Bills
• Georgia Department of Revenue: 2025 Georgia County Ad Valorem Tax Digest Millage Rates
• Cobb County Tax Commissioner: Property Taxes Overview
• Cobb County Tax Commissioner: Property FAQs
• Cobb County Tax Commissioner: Understanding Your Tax Bill 2025
• Cobb County Tax Commissioner: Exemptions - Property Taxes
• Cobb County Board of Tax Assessors: FAQs
• Cobb County: 2026 Notice of Property Tax Increase
• City of Acworth: Notice of Property Tax Increase (2026)
• City of Acworth: Important Additional Information Notice to Acworth Taxpayers (2026)
• City of Acworth: Finance and Property Tax FAQ
• Georgia Department of Revenue: Property Tax - Real and Personal Property FAQ
• Tax Foundation: Property Taxes by State and County, 2026
• Zillow Research: Zillow Home Value Index (Acworth, August 2026)